Risk Factors for Colorectal Cancers

Risk factors refer to anything that affects your chances of being diagnosed with a disease, in this case, colorectal cancers.

It is important to note that just because you have a risk factor that is on this list does not mean you absolutely will get the disease.

There are measures you can take to live a healthier lifestyle and decrease your risk.

Some of the factors your agent will look for:

Lifestyle factors

Such as being overweight or obese. If you’ve noticed a pattern of this our blog pointing out weight as a risk factor, good! The links between diet, exercise, and weight are some of the strongest risk factors for developing any type of cancer.

Diets that rely heavily on red or processed meats (or even on cooking meats at high temperatures) are linked to the development of colorectal cancers, as is physical inactivity.

Other lifestyle factors, such as smoking or heavy alcohol consumption have also been linked to colorectal cancer.

Age

Age is, unfortunately, also linked to the development of this type of cancer, as is your history of colorectal polyps or cancer. If you have had either cancer or polyps removes, you increase your likelihood of developing colorectal cancer.

The risk is especially increased if you were younger when you had the polyps or cancer removed.

The presence of certain diseases

This is because these diseases create dysplasia in the bowels. Dysplasia occurs when the cells of the colon or rectum look abnormal when viewed with a microscope. This cells can develop into cancer over time.

Your family history

Your family history with colorectal cancer is also an indicator. Roughly 1 in 5 people who develop colorectal cancer have had a family history of the disease. Your insurance agent should be made aware of both your personal and family history with colorectal issues, as well as any familial links to inherited diseases such as Lynch syndrome or familial adenomatous polyposis.

Additionally, treatment for other cancers such as testicular cancer or prostate cancer may have an increased risk for developing colorectal cancer.

In addition to these risk factors, if you have had colorectal cancer in the past, your agent is going to look for four key variables when estimating your risk: 1) The stage and grade of your cancer; 2) the type of treatment you received; 3) how much time has passed since your last treatment, and 4) how frequently you visit your physician for follow-ups.

The stage of colorectal cancer is particularly important.

The colon lining consists of 4 layers: the mucosa (the innermost), the submucosa, the muscularis and the serosa (the outermost layer). The further cancer has permeated these layers, the worse the prognosis will be. Equally as important is if the Lymph nodes have been involved, as this leads to early mortality in patients.

Duke’s Staging System

The most commonly used colorectal cancer staging system in life insurance risk assessment is the Duke’s Staging System.

This system is divided into four main groups: A, B, C, and D, with stages B and C being divided into two subcategories: B1 and B2, and C1 and C2.

Each category refers to how far the cancer has spread into the four layers of the colon lining. An additional stage, called “carcinoma ‘in-situ’” refers to the presence of cancer in the mucosa, or the innermost layer only, with no lymph node involvement.

Cancer in this stage is typically insurable at a standard rate with the addition of a flat fee.

Dukes’ Staging A indicates that the cancer has not spread to the lymph nodes but has penetrated to the submucosa.

Dukes’ Staging B1 means the cancer has spread to the submucosa but the lymph nodes have not been involved. Stage B2 means that the cancer reached the serosa, but the lymph nodes were also spared.

Stages C1 and C2 indicate the cancer has spread to the muscularis and the serosa, respectively. In each of these stages, the cancer has also reached the lymph nodes.

A Stage D denotes that the cancer has spread beyond the colorectal area and into other parts of the body. Typically, this stage is uninsurable with a traditional policy.

The problem with directly correlating these stages to insurance premiums is that they don’t take into consideration all other aspects of your health.

The presence of colorectal cancer does not automatically mean you fit into one of the insurance categories defined by underwriters, rather, your rating should be an average of your overall health and the risk you pose to potential carriers.